FriedBrickWall: Heh, yes, they are real Zones. Oil Ocean and Mystic Cave are from Sonic the Hedgehog 2, and Scrap Brain, Jungle and Labyrinth are from Sonic 1 (Master System version) A Spanish name for Bait...hmm...(is thoughtful) Maybe :P Lara-Le is Knuckles' mother...at least, according to most of the info I've been able to dig up on him ;)
Matri90: Thanks; yeah, I like Bait too ;)
XTailsX: (blushes) Wow...thanks :D Glad you're enjoying it so much :D
SaffraEchidna: You're so right :( Real reason...actually, I have no idea :P Maybe it'll come to me later ;)
Ri2: You think Bait needs another name too? Hmm. You could be right...no idea what though :P
Treasurehunter: (grins) Thanks :) (Knuckles: You don't have to rub it in, you know!) Hush up, Knux. Yes, he was knocked into a thorn bush as a puggle :P
Kj: Er...just a little, perhaps ;) Thanks and here is the requested update :D
Toboe16: To be honest, I'm not sure what you mean :S Sonic did tell Knuckles what happened to Bait's parents, or did you mean would he tell Knuckles about his own parents? If so...(shrugs) I don't know. I can't think of any good reason for him to, but then I can't think of any good reason for him not to either ;)
Asher Tye: Thanks; I'm glad you're enjoying it :)
The Golden Dove: (blushes) Wow, thanks! And no, I'm not bored; I love long reviews ;) Tails' feelings towards Sonic...this is a point where I would say you do need to read the prequel to fully understand them (too long a story and I'm too lazy to detail it fully :P) And thanks for your comments on Bait; I was kinda worried about letting him into the story, so it's good to know that nobody's starting a Hate-Bait-Club yet :P
The cave had remained undisturbed for almost five hundred years. The air was cool and musty with the scent of ancient texts and parchments, both of which lay where they'd been placed carefully, almost reverently into the alcoves between the phosphorescent crystals which lit the place up. Nobody had set foot there since the original inhabitants had left.
"OWP!"
Well, almost nobody.
Tails picked himself up, limping slightly, and stared around.
"Wow," he said softly. Something about this room didn't encourage you to raise your voice above a whisper.
He'd been digging for...actually, he didn't know how long it had been. It had felt like hours, and every single swing of the pickaxe had sent fresh pain down his back and tail, but it had been worth it for this. He'd emerged some eight feet above the actual floor and, taken by surprise, had fallen, landing on his broken tail and yelping loudly before he could stop himself.
What was this place? It looked semi-artificial – there was no way rock formations grew like bookshelves in the normal course of things – but who had made it? Who had left all these books behind and then vanished?
A sign, chiselled into what looked like marble, caught the fox's eye and he crossed over, reaching up unthinkingly to brush the dust of centuries off it and only realising his mistake when that same dust got into his throat and caused him to cough violently for several minutes before finally managing to overcome it. Rubbing his now streaming eyes, he looked up at the words revealed on the marble.
Walin bi-Sagayan
Tails' jaw dropped. Sagayan...that was the echidna word for, well, echidnas, wasn't it? And...well, he didn't know what walin meant. Library? Cave? Bookshop?
Carefully, half afraid they would crumble under his fingers, Tails brushed the dust off the books enough to read the extremely faded lettering on the spines. Squinting at the darkest and (presumably) most recent addition, he could just about make out the words Sitoka bi-Sagayan: Nam 510000 bi 514027.
Yes, that had to be the newest book, comparitively speaking. All the others went up in five-thousand increments. And these...they had to be the ancient echidna logs, didn't they? Knuckles had once told Tails that echidnas had been recording their daily occurrences for almost two thousand years, yet the logs on Angel Island barely covered a quarter of that time.
Eager now, Tails pulled the heavy tome off the shelf, carried it over to a large, flat stone that seemed to have been designed specifically for that purpose, sat down on another smaller stone and opened the log at the back, flipping through the pages until he located the last entry.
Sitoka bi-Sagayan: Nam 514027
Gija nomokon abus di-yi Ensel Gubal bi-langon. Ya-yi gharan ngin-yi bi-haintaim na nidim-yi ngerdin hali. Abus jut-yi bromda hialim ghara-tin wanim-yi wu nayeng.
"Ga-gorin ghara-tin diba-ny mwal gelya grindaim," abus jut-yi. Nu pasin ngima ngin-yi nomokon, tas dalmardil. "Ga grindaim samti yatja-yi bi-walin lahu Mobius bulku, webari limun bulku dabun-ny ghara-tin wan paia. Wuya sa-haintaim, jamen-yi bi-tinga bi-Sagayan, bir bosa, wi-donya na gidarda nga ngin-ni, bir tasal na maleng. Ngin-ny ka binu stra na narba gharan mihan tuma werg wu ngi-ny tong ngu nawa-yi lon bi-mamer nayis, bihan bar ngu-ni ka wargan na yimi-ny mitha bi-ganwusa mihan tuma wan wi yiken maleng?"
Ngergin bisain yeda-yi, bihan keis bar ngu-ni saros redi-yi lon gurdu mihan bi-yirn-yi abus? Jur-ya wu-nehen nayis bi-anta bi-nenyin lon ga-gorin ghara-tin, gand-yi mihan bi-sambin boru bi-taim ten-wanha yai. Nge ngin-yu jija-yu malo bi-ngergin bisain bi-ga-gorin walin na lon Ensel Gubal, webari nge inap-yu sambin grindaim wu-kimsin. Nge yus-yeh pawa bi-Gutu Grindaim wey-ma Gubal bi-wara, ka wu-laimamer yatja-ma.
Nuna samti ngu-ny goga asuha sara-ma. Abus yirn-yi bi-walin lahu limun bulku. walin yirn-yi ngu-ny walin webari nunam bi-ngergin bisain sta-ma, tasal har webari nge yatja-yu grindaim samti paia-ma masinfa. Abus tasal diba-ny grindaim bi-samti, goga wu-ngin-yu laram-yu wil-ma lema na wu-nenyin. Ngu-ny ga baro-ny nge bili-ma bi-abus maja guba, na ga baro-ny bi-ngergin bisain bulua-ma walin bi-Ensel Gubal. Ngu-ny obelen Sagayan maja-ma bisamti parum lema haintaim bi-Mobius, parum ga ngu-ny gurdu mihan. Wu-nehen nayis ya-nga jaha lai-ny. Sagayan wu-ngu-yeh moha-ma naba pira. Hugurdu wahis-yehn na namba bi-nge kidas-yehn inap-ma, bi-gija inal narda jup-ma. Nge wu-pelik-yeh!
--Bolwan bi-Sagayan, Wama bi-Waba Bolwan, Gutu bi-Walin na Pawa bi-Walin, Anta Raitha bi-Sagayan
Closing the book again, Tails could have howled with frustration. Of course the log would be written in the echidna language! How could he have been so stupid?
He didn't know the echidna language, apart from a few choice words that Knuckles let rip with from time to time, and then probably only because there weren't enough Mobian ones to express his frustration with something. He knew the odd word – Ensel Gubal was the echidnese for Angel Island, for example – but not enough to translate this.
Alright. Tails set his jaw, determination welling up inside him. Then you're just gonna have to try and work it out, aren't you?
His stomach growled and he put a hand on it, almost like he was soothing a pet. How long since he'd had anything to eat? One day? Two? Although Tails wasn't actually greedy by anyone's standards, like most young ones he always had a huge appetite, and he was doing more physical labour and burning far more energy than he ever had before. Maybe he should have eaten the leftovers on that tray after all.
He shook his head, trying to bully his suddenly mutinous brain into working. The quicker he got this done, the quicker he could get out and back to Angel Island. He had a nagging feeling that whatever he and the others were being forced to dig for had something to do with these tomes.
Leafing through it in the vain hope that there would be a dictionary, or at least something to give him an idea, Tails came at last to something which was written in Mobian, or at least, with a Mobian translation added underneath.
Ol bilhusa nadal sta wara wuji me wethim hali bi-ol bilhusa nadal sta gura.
Those whose hands are in the water should not expect sympathy from those whose hands are in the fire.
Tails stared into space for a few minutes. Where had he heard that phrase before? Of course; Knuckles! It had been one of his favourite phrases, although Tails had never heard the original echidna version before.
Maybe he could take the book with him, take it back to Angel Island. But no, that wouldn't work; he could only manage to take one book and suppose the one he picked didn't have what he was looking for? This was the latest one, sure, but that didn't automatically mean it was the one he should take.
Tails glanced at the passageway he'd created, then back at the echidna cave. It looked like someone had collapsed the tunnels, but they must be there somewhere. Maybe if he found them...maybe one would lead him to the surface!
He knew he was safe for the minute. The overseers never came to the prison, after all. Tails made up his mind there and then; he would rest first, try to translate this final passage and then when he knew a little more about it, he'd go on. Maybe by the time he understood this one, he could make a little sense out of the others.
In a minute. Sleep first, then work. Tails dropped his head onto his arms and was out for the count almost instantly.
He didn't know how long he slept for. When he awoke, the room was exactly as he'd left it, the same log open at the same page, reminding him of what he had to do.
For a moment, Tails balked at the idea – where was he supposed to start? – then set his jaw decisively. What was the saying? When your life depends upon doing the impossible, you'll find a way?
Well, something like that anyway. Even if his actual life didn't depend on this, he was still determined to do it. And when he got back to Angel Island, he was gonna get Knuckles to teach him every word in the echidna language if it was the last thing either of them ever did!
Smiling slightly at the thought of escape, Tails bent over the log and started trying to translate.
It was a mammoth and exhausting task made harder by the fact that he had no way of making notes and that the writers had all been working on the not unreasonable assumption that the only person who would ever want to read the log would be another echidna. He could identify the gist of things – the suffix -ma denoted the infinitive of a verb, for example, and -yi seemed to be the preterite form – but the specifics continued to elude him. Bi-...that was one of the few echidna words or parts of grammar that Tails did actually know, and unfortunately was the least helpful. The literal Mobian translation was of, but depending on tense and context, it could also mean out of, from or belonging to. Bi-langon...did that mean of something, or belonging to something? If it was the latter, what belonged to what? Did it mean that Robotnik had sent a minion – no, he didn't have minions, did he, not back then – or that the Master Emerald had just appeared?
Despite these problems, Tails kept plugging away, working doggedly, helped by the rare occasions when part of the text came together and made a strange kind of sense, which was in turn helped by his digging out other echidna proverbs which had been translated into Mobian in some of the other logs.
He didn't know how long it took him. His life had become simple; sleep, translate and sleep again. The sensation of hunger was growing steadily worse, and his energy levels were low, which meant a lot more sleeping and a lot less translating, but he continued to make progress, albeit painfully slowly. At last, though, he thought he had it.
Today a strange creature came to Angel Island from the clouds. He said that he was from the future and needed our help. The creature produced a chest containing gems the likes of which no one had ever seen before.
"These jewels are carved from raw emerald," the creature said. His manner of speech was strange, but intelligible. "The emerald matter was obtained from the caves near the centre of Mobius, where the planet's core charges the gems there with energy. Even in the future, we have heard of the wonders of the echidna race, how wise, all-knowing and powerful you are, how fair and non-judgmental. It is therefore only right and fitting that such a monumental favour as I am about to ask you is offered to your great race, for who else is so intelligent and capable of carrying out such a task with all possible honour?"
Our clan agreed, for indeed, who else would be better suited to a sacred duty such as the creature described? To prevent the weaker races on the surface from warring over these gems, we have undertaken the task of guarding them for a thousand years. We are moving the rest of our people out of these caves and onto Angel Island, where we may all guard the Emeralds undisturbed. We shall harness the power of the Master Emerald to lift the Island from the water, so that none may find it.
One thing remains unclear. The creature spoke of caves near the planet's centre. The caves he referred to are the caves where many of our people reside, the only place where we may obtain the emerald matter to power our facilities. This creature could only have created the Emeralds from this matter, yet he would never have been permitted to enter the caves unchallenged. It is this which makes us believe that his story is true, and which inspires our people to desert the caves for Angel Island. It is clear that echidnas play a far greater part in Mobius' future, a part involving a sacred trust. Let the lesser races do what they will. The echidnas shall no longer concern themselves with such trivialities. A shrine shall be built and the greatest among us shall be chosen to guard it, from now until the end of time. We shall not fail!
--Bolwan the Echidna, He Who Rides The Four Winds, Master of the Caves and Their Powers and High Scribe of the Echidnas
Tails looked up, eyes itching with exhaustion, body throbbing angrily all over, and felt absurdly pleased with himself. Translating something like this...yep, that really was something to be proud of. He wondered if Knuckles would like this log. Probably; he was extremely proud of his race and culture and he'd mentioned that a lot of the ancients' records had been lost. Wouldn't that be something, for Tails to turn up and oh-so-casually mention that not only had he escaped under his own steam, but that he'd found the caves of the ancients, or at least one of them?
He seriously doubted that the visitor really had said all that about the echidna race – one of the main character flaws among echidnas seemed to be the tendency to blow their own trumpets as loudly and as often as possible – but it explained a lot.
Creature from the future...they must be talking about Robotnik! It fit with the dates perfectly, after all, and according to both Sonic and Knuckles, it had been Robotnik who had first entrusted the echidnas with the Emeralds, before everything had 'gone haywire' as Sonic put it.
Glancing over, he saw that some of the other books were now strewn over the table. He'd have to put them back before he left; he didn't want them getting damaged. One in particular caught his attention though; it was the very first log and about halfway through there was a drawing of what looked like a cave filled with crystals. It was the only drawing in all the logs – and Tails had, in his translation efforts, gone through every page in all one hundred and three tomes – and the first echidna (name of Layona or something similar) had added notes all around the drawing. As far as Tails could tell, they looked like directions to something called Walim Yapai. Well...walim was cave, wasn't it, and yapai...Tails frowned. He knew that word, had come across it somewhere in this log. Maybe it was in one of the earlier entries, but he was so tired...so tired...so...
Tails dropped his head onto his arm and fell asleep, and had no idea he'd been discovered until the red-hot pain of the hated whip sliced across his back and he jerked awake to stare into the blazing eyes of an overseer.
Okay, that's it for the minute ;) If you read, please review!